A nice collection of meet-day registrations made for a more competitive evening of racing than it looked like it was going to be.
Perhaps nowhere was that more evident than in the women's 3200 where, with a very nice set of late entries, it came down to a four-way battle between Jenna Thurman, Julie Giannini, Kelli Reagan, and local masters runner Lisa Valle. In the end, that battle belonged to the Del Norte senior, who won by six seconds over second-place Giannini. If Thurman's at 11:55 on a tight track now, she has a lot to look forward to this spring on the bigger ovals. Although there is something to be said for racing without the infamous New Mexico springtime wind blowing...
The men's 3200 turned out to be almost as interesting. While I'm pretty sure that Neal Holtschulte isn't someone we need to concern ourselves with in the NM high school outdoor season, his presence may have added a little incentive for Sean Reardon. Or maybe Sean Reardon really is that comfortable at 10:01 pace in January. If so, Reardon is another to keep an eye on this spring. Jacob Riley and Josh Diltz both turned times that bode well for their upcoming seasons in the ranks of smaller schools.
For the second weekend in a row, Chris Graham and Mustafa Mudada turned in nice Saturday night performances. The latter, however, changed his focus from the 400 to the perhaps more familiar hurdles on Saturday night, winning the 60 meter version of the hurdles in 8.24. Hope's Jonathan Miller pitched a very nice shot put of 50-4 to round out the men's high school highlights from Saturday night.
The women haven't quite enjoyed their fair share of the treatment yet, however.
Over at the very-large pits, it was a nice pole vault showdown between Lauren Martinez and Anna Duvall. Martinez would win at 11-0, to Duvall's 10-6, but both marks look very good at this time of year. Martinez's mark, in fact, appears to tie a personal best mark for the Eldorado sophomore. Pole vaulters tend not to worry as much about over-competing during the winter months as some other event specialists do. It's hard to get too many competition-level reps in in an event as technical as the PV.
Del Norte's Jessica Scherrer showed well in winning both the 60 and the 400. That kind of sprint range is bound to make somebody on the coaching staff crack a bit of a preseason smile.
Lindsey Larsen, a Volcano Vista junior, showed well at 5-4 in the high jump. Like the pole vault, it's difficult to get too many high jump reps in over the course of a school year. Look for Larsen to be a key figure in the high jump this spring. As an aside, Larsen's jump on Friday night tied her PR in the event, not at all a bad way to start out your season.
And, finally, Jacqueline Katzman posted a nice 2:28-ish win in the 800. Judging by the other times in the event, that may have been a bit of a solo effort, but she should be repping the Bosque blue nicely on the track this spring.
One more of these Saturday night specials at the Albuquerque Convention Center remains. Following that comes the Great Southwest Indoor, and then... the outdoor season!
Complete Results
A nice collection of meet-day registrations made for a more competitive evening of racing than it looked like it was going to be.
Perhaps nowhere was that more evident than in the women's 3200 where, with a very nice set of late entries, it came down to a four-way battle between Jenna Thurman, Julie Giannini, Kelli Reagan, and local masters runner Lisa Valle. In the end, that battle belonged to the Del Norte senior, who won by six seconds over second-place Giannini. If Thurman's at 11:55 on a tight track now, she has a lot to look forward to this spring on the bigger ovals. Although there is something to be said for racing without the infamous New Mexico springtime wind blowing...
The men's 3200 turned out to be almost as interesting. While I'm pretty sure that Neal Holtschulte isn't someone we need to concern ourselves with in the NM high school outdoor season, his presence may have added a little incentive for Sean Reardon. Or maybe Sean Reardon really is that comfortable at 10:01 pace in January. If so, Reardon is another to keep an eye on this spring. Jacob Riley and Josh Diltz both turned times that bode well for their upcoming seasons in the ranks of smaller schools.